I have said it before in many blogs that some of you probably never read but I prefer Splinter Cell over the Metal Gear games. I love a great story as much as the next guy but who's to say Metal Gear has a better story than Splinter Cell anyway? If you follow the Splinter Cell games they actually have a very deep narrative and are realistic in alot of ways. Ultimately it comes down to me preferring realism over fantasy type stories where a guy fights huge robots but when I actually sat down and was playing Splinter Cell Conviction today I realised all the reasons why. This isn't to start some argument or to get bashed because of my obvious opinion. This is just a blog about why "I" prefer it over the Metal Gear games and should be read as such.

I really got into Splinter Cell when I saw my brother playing Spy's vs. Mercs on the original Xbox. Pandora Tormorrow was it's actual game name but it was the sequel to a game i'd seen before but never actually played much. Ultimately because the first Splinter Cell and the sequel are hard as hell games. I wasn't what you'd call a gamer back then. I mainly played multiplayer games on occasion. The rest of my time was spent outside, acting dumb with neighbors and family, or swimming. So I would never give a game an actual chance if it kicked my ass early on. It was the multiplayer that really trained me to delve deeper into the series and overall get better. Nothing is better training in Splinter Cell than facing "Real" people who are out to kill you. Forget everything you learned in both Metal Gear and Splinter Cell this was a whole different ball game and a brilliant ball game at that.

In the past i'd have said I prefer Splinter Cell because of it's multiplayer but when I really think about it i have always enjoyed Sam Fisher more than Snake or Raiden. He comes off as an older Jason Bourne who gets into all these conspiracies and countless times he tries to leave the company Third Echelon but they continue to need him. He also has a more personal life than that of Snake because he isn't a clone and we never learn much personal history of Big Boss if it didn't relate to the main story. Sam's family gets involved in some of the games and it turns the games into bad ass revenge stories. That one moment in Splinter Cell Conviction I spoke of in my review is probably one of my favorite gaming moments ever. It broke lines between games and movies and I have never and probably will never feel like that much of a bad ass again.

The gameplay is also almost perfect. Sure, I love Metal Gear's gameplay but Splinter Cell has sneaking and stealth down to a science. You really feel like you are an actual spy and that's something I never get with Metal Gear games. I always feel like I don't have alot of choices on where to go in MG games and the controls to me atleast are not near as fluid as they should be. Especially the older Metal Gear Solid games. Going into first person is clunky as hell and the environments don't offer many ways to tackle an enemy. Climb through this vent, hang on that railing, or shoot the guy in the head. It's pretty simple stuff.

In Splinter Cell I have sticky shockers, I can shoot out lights, hang from pipes and choke guys out. It's just a plethora of ways to take out enemies. Then we have the very open environments and the way you can use noise and other things to lure enemies in and take them out. Sure Metal Gear should be praised for paving the way for Splinter Cell's stealth mechanics but Splinter Cell should be praised for perfecting it. The fact that Metal Gear Solid 4 uses the same basic control set up as Chaos Theory and MGS 3 Subsistance, MGS 4, and PeaceWalker all use the behind the back camera like Splinter Cell tells you that Kojima obviously agreed to an extent.

Immersion is another thing I get when I play Splinter Cell that Metal Gear could only dream of. Metal Gear Solid 3 was the only Metal Gear game that ever actually immersed me with it's realistic location and other features. Splinter Cell's lock picking mechanic was always a favorite of mine. It was always so awesome using the vibration of a controller as a game mechanic to open locks and that's only part of it. Splinter Cell's realistic vibe just speaks to me more.

Ok, so while I prefer Splinter Cell overall i'll say things I like about Metal Gear more to close things up. The interesting characters in Metal Gear are seriously some of the best in gaming. The bosses to just the side characters are all amazing. Partly due to the game being in a fantasy setting but nonetheless they are amazing. Sometimes I want just a fun and sometimes even goofy stealth game and Metal Gear for sure isn't short on jokes whether it be sexual puns, funny characters, or a random mission in Peacewalker where you bang a 17 year old, it's got alot of it. Also, I can say that in some ways I enjoy the story better but when it starts getting convolted and frankly...Unbelieveable, I start to lose interest. I like crazy characters with powers and stuff but when you start trying to explain their powers or why a Metal Gear can think on it's own it starts to become filler much like learning that the Jedi in Star Wars Episode I and beyond used Midi-chlorians to use the force. I don't care about every little detail, let me use my imagination and relate it to my life please and get on with the story.

Overall though I just prefer the feeling Splinter Cell gives me. Standing in front of a guy because I made him walk into the shadows to look for me after I made a sound only to grab him from behind and make him tell me where the computer controls are is an unmatched feeling. I could go on and on about what I prefer but it always comes back to gameplay depth for me. I prefer choices, I prefer variety with those choices, and I ultimately find a realistic 50 year old man infiltrating terrorist bases taking them out in the dark alot more satisfying than being a guy who can decimate a huge nuclear robot but has to hide behind crates and when he has a few enemies chase him down he hides in a box, locker, or just leaves the room. In Splinter Cell the guards usually look everywhere and rarely let up. They know you are still there and it's up to you in these great environments to figure out a way to kill them.